DYLAN WATTS insists Shamrock Rovers must keep calm but not freeze in Iceland against Vikingur.
The Hoops head into Champions League action in Reykjavik tomorrow hoping it will be the start of a long European adventure and a group stage appearance later this season.
They qualified for 2022 by reaching the Conference League groups.
But they disappointed last season by losing all four of their European games, including at home and away to Icelandic side Breidablik.
And returning to Iceland this season to face current leaders Vikingur, Watts said they must learn from last year.
Watts, 27, said: “We let ourselves down last year.
“There’s no point in beating around the bush, especially in the first leg when we lost 1-0.
“Then the return match was difficult to recover from.
“We need to put in some big performances in the next two weeks.
“We know that Vikingur is similar and we will have a game plan ready for when we go there and we can play on our home court in the return match.”
Watts knows Rovers must remain calm and avoid unnecessary risks if they are to get a result.
He said: “You don’t play against these teams regularly, so you have to adapt.
“These matches are usually very technical and tactical.
“I like playing with them. They are challenging but they are good.
“You have a bit more time on the ball than in the League of Ireland.
“But at the same time, if you are careless in certain areas, they are almost waiting for you and they are breaking.
“That’s why we have to be careful and calm, but we also have to be positive.”
ALL IN
Boss Stephen Bradley echoed those sentiments, acknowledging that while the Hoops are the top seed, they cannot take anything for granted.
But he believes if they play as they did in last Thursday’s 1-0 win over Dundalk they can progress and face Sparta Prague in the second round.
They would then be guaranteed at least two more draws knowing that a win in one of them would guarantee them passage to the group stage.
If they lose, they will have the consolation of parachuting into the Conference League to face either Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Borac Banja Luka or Albania’s KF Egnatia.
But they would have to win three ties to reach the group stage.
Bradley said: “It’s going to be a really tough tie.
“We need to show that form against Dundalk.
“If we achieve that in both games, we will have a chance of winning.
“If we don’t do it, it won’t be enough because this is a good team like Breidablik last year.
“They are well trained and all their triggers are good.
“It’s going to be a good 50-50 draw.
“They receive the ball in wide areas and are really dangerous.
“A high percentage of his goals come from crosses.
Read more in the Irish Sun
“We’ll have to be good at stopping that.
“But I think we can hurt them in other ways.”
